Mark Bridge writes:
“Take some responsibility for your own actions”. There’s probably not a parent in the world who hasn’t said or thought something similar. But that’s not the message coming from regulators in the USA.
We’ve laughed in the past about coffee cups from the United States that warn about the coffee they contain. Now there seems to be a similar movement against mobile phones that connect to the internet.
Barbara Anthony, undersecretary of the Consumer Affairs & Business Regulation office, recently connected to the internet by accident on her mobile phone. She pushed the wrong button and was charged 40 cents. Whose fault? Not hers. Not the manufacturer. No, it was her mobile operator.
Now, I’ll accept that mobile phone manufacturers have an element of responsibility. It shouldn’t be easy to access any service accidentally.
But blaming your network operator sounds more like a move towards ‘compensation culture’ than a genuine grievance. If I buy a Swiss Army Knife (other armies are available) and accidentally poke myself with the tool for removing stones from horses’ hooves, it’s my fault. If I dial a wrong number on my home phone and get charged for the call, it’s my fault.
If there’s anyone other than yourself to blame for using the mobile internet, you should be looking at the product manufacturer. But blaming a mobile network when it charges you for a service you used? Talking about stealth charges? Mobile phone users of America, it's time to own up. You made a mistake. Just admit it.